There is a problem at my house and I don’t think it’s me. But I think daddy does.
Gracie Ann Gurley here. This is Gracie’s Tales #3. That’s a dog funny in case you’re wondering. Tales. Tails. Get it?
But I don’t think this Tale is all that funny.
Daddy is always telling me to “be nice, Gracie.” That’s usually when I’m around Ellie.
That’s me on the left in the photo. I’m begging with my eyes for daddy to let me out before the devil puppy Ellie tries to pull out one of my toenails. For real.
So, who’s this Ellie creature?
Ellie looks sweet because she looks like me, of course. We are related somehow, which is why everyone in our family (except daddy) thought I would be happy when she showed up in our front yard one morning.
She’s my new WHAT??
No one asked me if I wanted a niece… I can’t even pronounce it. I already had Norman as a best friend. How many best friends can you have? You’ll meet Norman in a future Tale.
And why was momma so happy?
Ellie was about the size of my favorite chew toy on that first day. Something worse than chewing was going through my head that morning. She smelled funny. She couldn’t hardly run.
What was I going to do with that?
Daddy says I went into a tailspin. I thought my tail was fine, but I was really unhappy. One day everything was perfect and then when Ellie showed up… it wasn’t.
Everything was all about Ellie. I couldn’t believe all the mistakes she made. Momma put these white things on all the floors but Ellie kept going where they weren’t. If you can believe this, she would put her front legs on the white things but not her back legs. How dumb is that? And what is with all the noises she makes when she wants attention. What dog does that?
I decided not to eat, at least sometimes. Daddy makes breakfast and dinner for us and he noticed right away. Not only was I not eating mine, I wasn’t trying to steal Norman’s. I think daddy gives Norman more food than me anyway so stealing some seemed ok.
I was sure that momma and daddy, and even Norman, loved Ellie more than me.
I thought humans were smart. They have new little humans all the time. Shouldn’t they know how to deal with new dogs… wait, I mean the old dogs.
Maybe that’s the problem. They don’t know what to do either. Daddy found this great article for pet parents about new dogs in a house like mine. See the article in the comments.
Momma and daddy have tried hard to be nice to me. I try to eat when daddy makes it, even though I’m not a morning dog. That really makes him happy. I even let Ellie go on my walk sometimes. But it’s still my walk.
Ellie and me are trying to figure things out. She’s almost not a puppy anymore. That’s helped some. And she doesn’t try to steal my food as much. We’ll see.
More from Gracie’s Tales
Tale #7: Why apologizing is so hard
Sibling rivalry and learning to be a little nicer.
Read this Tale →
Tale #2: Why we lose our minds when you come home
Spins, tail wags, and the happiest moment of a dog’s day.
Read this Tale →